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Senate Guard Caucus Prepares for New AF Leadership

June 20, 2012

Last week Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Co-Chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus, reached out to the nominee for the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Mark Welsh. They congratulated him, expressed their concerns about the current Air Force leadership and processes, and asked him to reply to this series of questions:

1. What is your vision for the future of the Air Force AC/RC mix?

2. Do you concur in the conclusions reached in the Department of Defense's 2011 post QDR report on the future role of the Reserve Component? How will your views on that report influence future Air Force budget requests?

3. What process do you plan to use to meet the gubernatorial approval requirement in Title 32, U.S. Code§ 104(c)?

4. How do you plan to work with Governors, Adjutants General in Title 32 status, and Members of Congress to avoid the acrimony created by this year's Air Force budget plan?

5. What collaborative relationship do you envision with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the primary Title 10 representative of the National Guard and your peer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as the Air Force prepares its budget request for fiscal year 2014?

We look forward to seeing Gen Welsh's answers.

And for some fun....

Along with hard work comes time to have fun. Last night, two of our lobbyists - Annie Lively and Emily Sass- ran into the National Guard's Panther Racing Indy Car Driver, JR Hildebrand on their way to a reception with the Texas National Guard.